A handful of cases of the Human Metapneumovirus have been confirmed in India but officials say there's no cause for alarm, according to multiple reports.

India confirmed its first cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infections in children, with a total of seven cases reported as of Tuesday. The cases were reported in Bengaluru, Nagpur, Tamil Nadu

While news reports and social media videos have caused concern about a potential HMPV outbreak in China, experts from the WHO, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies say the rise is not currently a cause for concern and within the normal range for the season.

According to ICMR, HMPV accounts for about 3% of the respiratory pathogens detected in laboratories testing for Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), notes Vanita Srivastava.

A recent increase in cases of the human metapneumovirus (hMPV) in China has been misrepresented on social media as evidence of a new virus spreading in the country with some posts claiming it prompted China to declare a state of emergency.

During a conference in Brussels on Wednesday, European Commission spokesperson Eva Hrnčířová addressed media reports concerning the situation in China. She highlighted the rise in metapneumovirus infections in the region but emphasized that,